Journey On Once More

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Chapter3

Seiran walked silently right outside the place they were staying at and his thoughts kept drifting back to a certain miko. He looked up at the sky and saw that it was a full moon tonight. Staring at the moon made him reminisce about how the three of them met in the first place, him, Ryuuki and Kagome. In fact, it was Ryuuki who relayed the story to him in the first place...

Flashback...

A young Seien walked around the corner trying to find Ryuuki. He had been too busy with his lessons lately and he wasn't able to care for his brother. He wondered if the others were cruel to him again. Seien was fond of Ryuuki because they were both unwanted and because of that they were forced to strive harder then the rest. They became the favorites of the Emperor which made the others even more furious. Seien sighed as he carefully went through a bush and there he saw Ryuuki sitting near a pond with a black-eye. His little brother was crying and that didn't sit well with Seien.

The little prince was about to near his sobbing brother when a mysterious girl with black hair rushed to Ryuuki with a first-aid kit in her right hand and a basket of food on her left,

"Hey, Ryuuki, are you all right? Who did this to you? Was it that meanie again?" The girl sat down beside Ryuuki who continued to sob in her lap. The girl made cooing and soothing noises to calm him down. Little by little, his sobs died away.

"Here.I brought you food, I thought we could have a picnic here. Now, let me see that eye of yours." Seien was surprised with the interaction. He never expected someone to befriend his brother like this. He watched on as the girl placed her small hands gently on his brother's face and they started to glow a light pink. 'She's a priestess!' Seien thought in disbelief. The little girl was obviously older than Ryuuki but she was way younger than him.

Deciding that it was time he made himself known, Seien walked towards them with a kind smile on his face. The girl seemed to notice him first before glaring at him with distrust,

"If you hurt him, you'll be sorry." her girly voice made Seien chuckle lightly. Even if she was serious, he coudn't help himself. She was cute. Just when the girl was about to shout at him again, Ryuuki grabbed her hand,

"No, Kagome-neechan! He's Seien, my brother." The girl named Kagome looked at Ryuuki, confused,

"Aren't all of your siblings mean to you? Why is this one any different?" she asked innocently. Ryuuki clutched her arm,

"Because he's my brother." Kagome looked at him in confusion but nodded anyways. She'll trust him but if anything goes wrong, someone will get hurt sooner or later. Kagome neared Seien who was eying her with interest. She stopped in front of him and held out her hand,

"I'm Kagome, Prince Seien. It's nice to meet you." He eyed her once more. This girl does not act her age. In fact, she's more mature than others. Gaining his respect, Seien took her hand and shook it gently,

"It's nice to meet you, Kagome."

End Flashback...

That was how their friendship started. Seiran was too caught up I his musings that he almost jumped when a hand touched his shoulder. Turning around, he saw Ensei and Ryuuki glaring at him. Ryuuki was the first to speak,

"Why didn't you tell her that you were Seien?" Seiran shook his head,

"It's better off that she knows I no longer exist." Ensei smacked him on the head,

"Are you crazy? Did you see how depressed that girl was when you lied to her?" He winced and rubbed the sore spot on his head,

"If you two were so concerned, why didn't you tell her?" Ryuuki felt like strangling him for hurting a long time friend of theirs. He narrowed his eyes,

"Do you really think that she would like to hear it from us?" Ensei grumbled,

"What would you have done if we did tell her right then and there? What would she have done?"

"I would feel quite stupid." They all turned to the new person who joined in their conversation. Kagome stood there with a cold look. Ensei and Ryuuki took this as their cue to leave. Seiran sighed and turned away,

"How much did you hear?"

"I've heard enough." Kagome walked slowly towards him,

"Why? Why did you think that I was better of not knowing?" Kagome growled out. The young man did not reply so she continued, her tone shifted to hurt and desperation,

"Do you know how much time I spent worrying about you? I finally come back and you lie to me...Tell me, what's your reason for making me look like I'm insane." Seiran stared at her for a moment before turning away. He had nothing to say to her. He could not tell her of his past and how he was trying to live a different life. He could not simply tell her that he was running away. Away from the people who had anything to do with him in the past, he could not bear it if they were suddenly targeted and killed…like his mother.

Kagome stared at his back; it had been years since they last saw each other. When she saw him in the woods, she felt her heart skip a beat. She never thought that he was still alive; after all, rumors confirmed his death. Kagome had wanted to test him; to see if he would still remember her. She wanted to make sure that she wasn't imagining things. Kagome wanted him to give her a hint, a clue, anything that would tell her that he was the real Seien. Even though his unusual hair color gave him away immediately, it was still hard to believe.

But just when she wanted to ask him directly, she overheard their little conversation. He was willing to keep her in the dark. He was willing to pass off their miraculous reunion as a mere acquaintance between strangers. Tears started to form and Kagome failed miserably in holding them back,

"Do you really want to avoid me that much?" There was still no answer from the man that stood in front of her. Kagome clenched her fists,

"I don't know why you can't be truthful to me as a friend. We haven't seen each other in how long and y-you…you wanted me to continue believing you were dead?" He turned to face her this time with a hard look on his face,

"Yes." The miko's eyes widened.

The wind blew against them causing the leaves to fly past them as well. The moon shun above them as they stood completely still.

Seiran watched as her expression portrayed the betrayal she felt. He watched as she inwardly debated with herself whether or not to accept his lie. The tears that flowed freely down her smooth cheeks begged him to wipe them away and he wanted to. He wanted to take back all that he had said, he wanted to turn back time and tell her that he was ecstatic to see her. Seiran wanted to rush over to her and hold her tightly He wanted to tell her that he would never let her fall into the hands of that man. He wanted to keep her and never let her go but it was fear that held him back.

Ryuuki himself said that if Kagome were to refuse, she would be killed and Seiran would never allow it. Gathering his courage, he walked past her and through the door, leaving her to fall to her knees and cry…

TBC…

Read and review!

I know it's been a REALLY long time since I updated, but I was having a tough time planning on how this story should proceed since I'm not actually watching Saiunkoku Monogatari anymore. I'm really sorry—for the wait; for the grammar and spelling errors; and for the fact that I will not continue this story according to the series itself. I'm really sorry but I hope you don't mind if I go about in a different way.

Anyway, I still hope you enjoyed.